15032019-btd-01.qxd 3/14/2019 11:00 PM Page 1 c m y b Bathinda TRIBUNE QUIZ COMPETITION ORGANISED AT TECH UNIVERSITY A quiz competition for students of undergraduate and postgraduate courses was organised. FORECAST CLEAR SKY INBRIEF COUPLE BOOKED FOR THEFT Malout: The Lambi police have booked a couple for allegedly stealing gold ornaments and cash from the residence of their relative at Sheranwala village here. The total cost of the stolen items and cash is said to be ~90,000. Davinder Kaur of Sheranwala village, in her complaint to the police, said she had gone to meet her parents and at that time, Baljinder Singh and Pinder Kaur, both residents of Katora village in Zira, stole her gold ornaments and ~3,000. TNS PAGE 2 WORLD SLEEP DAY: GET IT RIGHT, TIME TO SLEEP TIGHT PAGE 3 Gadgets have connected world like never before and made life easier. They have also eaten into quality of sleep. MAX 23°C | MIN 9°C | YESTERDAY MAX 20°C | MIN 11°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6:38 PM ACTOR TIGER SHROFF TO JUDGE NACH BALIYE? PAGE 4 Reality show Nach Baliye is making its way back to the small screen with the most exciting celebrity couples. SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:39 AM FRIDAY | 15 MARCH 2019 | BATHINDA Farmers up the ante against co-op bank Break police barricades and gherao bank in support of their demand to get blank cheques back THIEVES DECAMP WITH JEWELLERY Bathinda: Thieves decamped with jewellery and cash from a house in Akalia Kalan village in the district. Complainant Sukhmander Singh, a resident of the same village, told the police that unidentified persons decamped with 4 gold rings and ~7,000 in cash from his house. Police officer Desraj said a case under Sections 380 and 457 of the IPC had been registered against unidentified persons at the Nehianwala police station. TNS FUEL PRICES PETROL ~71.85 DIESEL ~66.40 Youth held with illegal weapon, 5-gm heroin Amritsar, March 14 The Jandiala police have arrested a youth with an illegal weapon and heroin. The accused has been identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, of Dharam Chand Kalan village of Tarn Taran. Police officer Balbir Singh said the youth was nabbed from the Jandiala Guru- Tarn Taran bypass. He said he was travelling on a bike and tried to flee after a police team signalled him to stop. He said the police also confiscated 5gm heroin from him. According to a preliminary probe, the accused had procured a .32 bore countrymade pistol from Delhi. A case under the NDPS Act and Arms Act has been registered. — TNS Police use mild cane charge on protesters, (below) farmers stage a protest; and members of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) break barricades in Bathinda on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: PAWAN SHARMA Sukhmeet Bhasin Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 14 Farmers under the banner of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) continued their protest for the third consecutive day in front of Co-operative Agriculture Development Bank here on Thursday. Accusing the district administration of turning a blind eye towards their demands, they broke police barricades and gheraoed the bank. On Thursday, they also held bankers hostage inside the bank. The bank officials were still inside the bank till the filling of the story. Efforts are on to pacify the protesters. The police also resorted to mild cane charge on the agitating farmers in order to stop them. In protest, farmers announced that they would continue to gherao the bank till their blank cheques were returned to them. They also demanded the list of farmers from whom blank cheques had been taken. While addressing the protesters, farmer leader Shingara Singh Mann and others accused the Centre and the state government of adopting “anti-farmer and labour policies”. Farmer leaders said banks, arhtiyas and other financial organisations had illegally taken blank cheques from farmers before giving them loans. They said later, these banks and organisations were misusing these cheques by depositing these for clearance. The farmer leaders said before the Assembly elections, the Congress had promised to waive the complete loan, but after two years in power, only a few farmers had got little relief due to terms and conditions set by the government in its loan waiver scheme. They added that the state government was not taking any action against the illegal recovery of loans by banks using the blank cheques. They are also demanding complete loan waiver for the farmers who cannot repay the loan. They also sought ~10-lakh compensation for the family of growers who committed suicides, government job to one of their family members and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations. Moreover, they also demanded that the state government should stop “forced debt recovery” and release the arrested farmers. UNION ACCUSES ADMN OF ‘IGNORING’ DEMANDS ■ Accusing the district administration of turning a blind eye towards their demands, they broke police barricades and gheraoed the bank. On Thursday, they also made bankers hostage inside the bank. ■ The police also resorted to mild cane charge on the agitating farmers in order to stop them. In protest, farmers announced that they would continue to gherao the bank till their blank cheques were returned to them. ■ They also demanded the list of farmers from whom blank cheques had been taken. ■ Farmer leaders said banks, arhtiyas and other financial organisations had illegally taken blank cheques from farmers before giving them loans. ■ They said later, these banks and organisations were misusing these cheques by depositing these for clearance. BKU holds protest against tractor agency Bathinda, March 14 Farmers under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Sidhupur, headed by its block president Ranjit Singh Jeeda, staged a protest against a tractor agency at ITI Chowk here on Thursday. Addressing the protesters, Jeeda said, “A farmer, Jagjit Singh of Nehiawala village, had bought a new tractor from the agency two years ago and there was five-year guarantee of the tractor. But, it started developing snags repeatedly.” He added that Jagjit visited the agency on a number of occasions and requested its owner to replace the tractor. He said every time, the owner got the tractor repaired. The farmer leader said when the tractor again developed a snag, the farmers on Thursday staged a protest outside the agency. Sukhdarshan Singh, general secretary of the union, said they would continue to protest till the farmer did not get a new tractor. — TNS Members of the BKU, Sidhupur, protest outside a tractor agency in Bathinda on Thursday. PAWAN SHARMA Manpreet: All promises to be fulfilled Lawyers call off strike but litigants suffer Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 14 Finance Minister and Bathinda (Urban) MLA Manpreet Singh Badal on Thursday said the promises made before the Assembly elections would be fulfilled in the fiveyear term of the government. He said around three years were left for their term to end. The Finance Minister said for the development of the city, many councillors had joined the Congress. He added that the Congress government was trying to resolve all sorts of problems of the city and provide better facilities to residents. He said it could only be possible if people supported the Congress. Manpreet said various development works were going on in the city and city government schools were all set to get a facelift and work on this had already started. Speaking on the Lok Sabha elections, Manpreet said, “The Congress is the party that has given major insti- Bathinda, March 14 Litigants visiting the district courts are a harried lot as hearings in several cases have not been conducted for the past three days owing to the ongoing strike by lawyers. As a result, the cases of litigants are being adjourned. Notably, in their bid to express resentment over the anti-encroachment drive conducted outside the District Courts Complex, the lawyers have been observing a strike for the past three days. Parminder Singh, a resident of Nehianwala village, said, “Owing to the ongoing strike by lawyers, the advocate handling my property dispute case on Thursday refused to take up my case. As a result, the judge adjourned the hearing for the next week. Now, I have to visit the district courts again from my village.” As the lawyers did not take up cases, a number of litigants got miffed over the decision of strike by them. Finance Minister Manpreet Badal addresses a press conference in Bathinda on Thursday. PAWAN SHARMA tutes and infrastructure, including Punjab Agriculture University, Bhakra Dam, PGI and AIIMS, to the nation. It indicates that development has taken place during the Congress rule in Punjab and the party is better for the state. Now, it is up to people to decide.” The Finance Minister appealed to people to consider the Congress as according to him, “now, it is not a fight for the country”. Local Congress leader KK Aggarwal said, “The Finance Minister had given ~18 crore to the MC for development works in the city, but the SAD Mayor, along with Sarup Chand Singla and others leaders, held a meeting and decided not to pass any project. They know that all credit Continued on page 2 c m y b Litigants at the District Courts Complex in Bathinda on Thursday. PHOTO: VIJAY KUMAR A group of litigants said there must be a provision that even if there was a strike, the lawyers must take up important cases for hearing so that litigants did not have to suffer. Meanwhile, the District Bar Association convened a meeting in which it was decided to accommodate the advocates whose makeshift offices were removed during the anti-encroachment drive. Talking to Bathinda Tribune, Harsatnam Singh Dhillon, vice-president, District Bar Association, said, “The work of constructing Cblock at the District Courts Complex will start soon. We will accommodate the advocates, whose makeshift officers were removed during the anti-encroachment drive, in the chambers of the new building. We have called off our strike on Thursday and the lawyers are expected to resume work on Friday.” The indefinite dharna by shop or vend owners and notary operators entered the fourth day at the site where the anti-encroachment drive was carried out by the MC. Vijay Singh, a vend owner, said, “The vend owners met the Finance Minister, Manpreet Badal, and demanded a place to resume their work. He has asked us to meet him in his office on Friday to work out a solution to the matter.”

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